We introduce a new surgical technique where an extracardiac tunnel is created using pedicled autologous pericardium in an 8-month-old boy who was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect and anomalous connection of the right superior pulmonary vein to the superior vena cava.

An extremely low birthweight infant (940 grams) with a rare variant of obstructed infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return underwent stenting of the venous duct as bridge to later surgical intervention. While technically challenging, this procedure represents a bridge to surgery for infants who might otherwise not be surgical candidates.

We report the successful use of levosimendan in the treatment of heart failure in a patient with the univentricular heart. The presented case was atypical because our patient had systemic right ventricle. To our knowledge, it is the first reported such case with intermittent levosimendan administration as an effective treatment and bridge to successful heart transplant in a patient with functionally univentricular heart.

Senning operation is a surgical treatment for transposition of great arteries that can be complicated by post-procedural atrial or caval baffle leaks. We present a 6-year-old boy with a history of Senning repair for transposition of great arteries, who developed a pulmonary venous baffle leak. Percutaneous baffle leak closure was successfully performed using an Amplatzer septal occluder.

Myocarditis and coronary artery anomalies are both potentially life-threatening aetiologies of cardiac chest pain in children. We present a case of a young man presenting with non-exertional chest pain and subsequently found to have an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left coronary sinus with an interarterial course in addition to a diagnosis of myocarditis. The patient subsequently was able to undergo surgical correction of his anomalous coronary to mitigate the risk of sudden cardiac death.

Modified Blalock–Taussig shunt thrombosis is a life-threatening event. We describe an extremely rare catheter-induced shunt thrombosis in an infant with complex CHD and its successful treatment utilising a single low dose of local recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in conjunction with balloon angioplasty.

Cystic echinococcosis caused by infection with the larvae form of Echinococcus granulosus remains highly endemic and constitutes a public health concern in some regions of the world. In this case report, we present a rare children case of interventricular hydatid cyst with a size of approximately 5 cm and its successful treatment.

The hybrid perventricular approach for the closure of trabecular ventricular septal defects is an attractive treatment modality for small children. Worldwide experience has shown that procedure success is influenced by the defect anatomical accessibility, operators’ expertise, and device technical features. In May 2018, a new promising device, the KONAR-Multi-functional™ ventricular septal defect occluder (Lifetech, Shenzhen, China), obtained CE-marking for septal defect transcatheter closure after the first-in-man implantation in 2013. Herein, this is the first report of successful perventricular closure of ventricular septal defect using this new device in a child with significant co-morbidities.

Vascular involvement in neurofibromatosis type 1 has been described, although coronary artery disease is rare. Data about clinical presentation and natural history are anecdotal. This is the first case of myocardial infarction due to coronary aneurysms in a 13-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis type 1. We discuss pathophysiology, diagnostic images, and therapeutic management of this rare association.

A 14 -year-old boy presented with chest pain and breathlessness. Echocardiography showed a large pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade features and suspicion of cardiac mass. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance demonstrated a large, well-defined pericardial mass, suggesting atypical large coronary fistula with pericardial haematoma or primary cardiac/pericardial tumour such as angiosarcoma. Histology confirmed a mixed-type vascular malformation. Sirolimus therapy was initiated.

Rhabdomyomas are the most common paediatric cardiac tumours. The natural history of these tumours is mostly benign, and the tumour usually regresses spontaneously. Although surgical resection of these tumours is one of the considerations in patients with ventricular outflow obstruction, a palliation with Blalock–Taussig shunt is an alternative approach with the hope of regression of the tumour over time. We report a case of prenatally diagnosed rhabdomyomas in the right ventricle and its outflow presenting as hemodynamic simulating hypoplastic right ventricle in a newborn. She required prostaglandin and Blalock–Taussig shunts palliation for pulmonary flow and subsequent regression of tumours.

Myocardial bridges are often asymptomatic but may need therapy when causing ischaemia. They have rarely been reported in children or in association with CHD, where symptomatology may be mistakenly attributed to the CHD. We report a case of multiple myocardial bridges causing ischaemia in an adolescent with pulmonary stenosis and discuss management.

CHD is closely related to respiratory system diseases (Mok Q, Front Pediatr 2017; 5: 2296–2360). Flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy will diagnose anatomical lesions of the trachea and perform interventions at the same time for children with indications. We report a case of pulmonary artery sling with severe tracheostenosis in a 11-month-old boy. Tracheal stents were placed with good prognosis.

We describe a previously asymptomatic 7-year-old girl with a sudden cardiac arrest during elective pacemaker revision. Later imaging identified epicardial pacemaker lead strangulation of the left anterior descending and left circumflex coronary arteries. Anaesthetic induction led to a reduction in myocardial perfusion, precipitating the arrest. Extreme care should be taken during anaesthesia if cardiac strangulation is suspected.

A 13-year-old girl with a single ventricle and bilateral systemic-to-pulmonary shunts developed hypoxia due to shunt stenosis, which was caused by a methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus abscess. Stent implantation associated with appropriate antibiotic administration was crucial to dilate and maintain shunt patency.

Tricuspid valve atresia with severe pulmonary stenosis is one of the common cyanotic diseases in neonate. Child can succumb due to profound cyanosis and arterial hypoxaemia after closure of patent ductus arteriosus. Evolving procedure of right ventricular outflow tract stenting may be considered as a palliative procedure in such vulnerable group, destined for a later definitive management. The right ventricular outflow tract stenting is described essentially for tetralogy of Fallot physiology with a catheter course across tricuspid valve. We describe a case of successful right ventricular outflow tract stenting in a 5-day-old symptomatic neonate. We discuss the possible routes and the tips to facilitate right ventricular outflow tract stenting in such a case. This happens to be the first reported case description with successful stenting of neonate with tricuspid atresia with critical pulmonic stenosis.

LMNA mutations cause a variety of inherited diseases referred to as laminopathies which are associated with a wide spectrum of disease phenotypes, ranging from skeletal muscle disease, pre-mature ageing, metabolic disorders, and cardiac abnormalities. We present a case of a 14-year-old boy with dilated cardiomyopathy induced by the LMNA mutation (p. R429C) and described its electrocardiogram and imaging features.